Graeme James

I sent the images of this piece to Julian Stair as he is a historian of English ceramics and he said his first thought when he saw it was Geoffrey Swindell, who we know it is not.

I also sent the images to Lynn Bennett who runs frejaswayceramics.com and she said it looks scandinavian but didn't recognise the mark.

I just took this vase to a recording of the Antiques Roadshow and spoke to Henry Sandon about it - he didn't know who it was by but said it was a 'very talented and professional potter'. He thought possibly English.

That's interesting - if there are a few others out there then the potter must have been commercial. Is there a link to the others - I would be interesting in seeing them.

hard to see why we haven't come across this talented potter before?
He/She can't be British

I just asked on a Danish forum that I haven't been on for 7 years, it has now been active for 17 years

http://precisensan.com/antikforum/showthread.php?28921-Tre-UFOs&p=266513#post266513

Graham James is a name that has been suggested. Here's another piece by the same potter. Also a link to an auction house that sold a couple of pieces by him - lots 89 and 90. From Cornwall I believe. His work is definitely varied.

http://www.chorleys.com/catalogues/ourcatalogues.aspx?Catalogue=93&Section=2058&pg=lotlist&pageOn=2

well those two in the auction results are stoneware so could the other two be the same material?

How can this chap produce work like this and not have any Google presence? Even the auction house listing doesn't appear when you Google him. Very odd.

What about Graeme James, born 1942 - a couple of vases sold at Mallam's and Barneby's.

Auction house result.

I would say it is by him, though I believe the actual spelling of his name is Graeme James. The mark does correspond.
Little is known about him, other than a local collector said she used to buy from his studio in Chipping Campden but he now lives back in Australia where he was born in 1942.

I have found a few more old auction pics of the Australian's pottery and it doesn't look similar to our mystery potter's finer work

A second auction house, Mallams, have confirmed that these pieces are by Graeme James - however they are not his most commercial pieces.

The queries in 2017 about the pottery stamp GJ have just come to my attention. It is indeed the stamp of Graeme James used on porcelain made at the Chipping Campden workshop. The pottery was established in 1979 and closed in 2005 due to a triple coronary bypass that made continuing pottery impossible. Reduction fired stoneware was also made but virtually never stamped, just signed James.